Electric vehicle-brake.



. `PATENTE) FEB. 11, 1903. C. J.. SPEGHT'K' U. RJKRUEGER;

ELECTRIC VEHICLE BRAKE.

APPLIUATION FILED JUNI: 1902.

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PATENTED' EEB. 17, 1903. C. J. SPEGHT & C. R. KRUEGER4 ELECTRIC' VEHICLEBRAKE. PlLvmmmN PILEDJUNB '1, 1902.

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UNITED STATES PATENT Ormes.

CHARLES J. SPECHT AND CHARLES R. KRUEGER, NEW YORK, N. Y.

ELECTRIC VEHICLE-BRAKE.V

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 720,978, dated February17, 1902.

Application filed June 7,1902.

T0 @ZZ whom, it Tran/y concern.-

Beit known that we,CHARLES J. SPECHT and CHARLES R. KRUEGER, citizens ofthe United States, and residents of the city of New York, borough ofManhattamin the county and State of New York, have invented new anduseful Improvements in Electric Vehicle-Brakes, of which the followingis a full, clear, and exact description.

This invention relates to an electric brake for vehicles. lt isparticularly adapted for use on electrically-driven streetcars, and itcomprises a shoe which forms the pole of an electromagnet and which uponthe energication of the magnet attaches itself to the wheel, thustending to retard the revolution thereof. Further, the shoe communicatesits magnetism to the wheel, and this in tu rn tends to adhere to therail, .so that a double braking power is attained. Ve have also provideda means for reducing the residual magnetism in the Wheel after theelectromagnet of the brake-shoe has been denergized, thus to prevent thewheel from becoming permanently magnetized. i

This specification is an exact description of one form of our invention,while the claims define the actual scope thereof.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part ofthis specification, in which similar characters of reference indicatecorresponding parts in all the views.

Figure l is a side elevation of the invention, showing it applied to acar, parts shown in said view being in section. Fig. 2 is an enlargedsectional view of the electromagnetic shoe. Fig is an enlargedcross-section of th'e shell for reducing the residual magnetism, saidview showing the shell in position with respect to the tread of thewheel. Fig. 4.- is a detail View of the controller-lever with parts insection on the line d d of Fig. 5. Fig. 5 is an elevational view of thecontroller, and Fig. 6 is a sectional plan view on thc line 6 6 of Fig.5.

We prefer to apply the improved brakeshoes and other mechanism of theinvention to the ordinary brake-gear of the car, so as to permit theapplication of the brakes by hand whenever desired.

Ve have not shown the brake-gear in the Serial No. 110,640. (No model.)

drawings, since this forms no part of our invention.

As best shown in Fig. 2, the shoe 10 is constrncted in the form of ametallic casing with removable portions at any desired point, so as topermit the insertion ofthe electromagnets l1. These magnets have boltsl1 projected through the inner orworking face of the casing.

l2 indicates the pin-bearings by which the shoe is mounted on thebrake-gear, as usual. The entire shoe may be constructed of magneticmaterial, such as softiron, or the working face 10:L thereof alone maybeconstructed of this material. New it-will be seen that upon theenergization of the magnets ll the shoe itself will become energized andwill cling to the wheel the same as though it were applied by the usualbrake-gear. Also the magnetism of the shoe will be transmitted to (thewheel, and the wheel itself will then tend to cling to the rail on whichit runs. This elfectually brakes the wheel.

The number and form of the magnets in the shoe is immaterial, thismatter depending upon the size ofthe shoe and the wheel to which it isapplied. VIn Fig. 2 two pairs of magnets are shown, one at each end,this shoe being adapted to large sizes of wheels. For smaller wheelsonepair'of magnets might be used.

The magnets may be controlled by any suitable means for switching on andoff the current. In Figs. 4, 5, and 6 we have shown a controllercomprising a shaft 14, at the top of which is a stationary quadrant l5,and over this quadrant works a hand-lever 16, with a spring-dogi7coacting with the quadrant, so that n pon throwing this lever theshaft 14 will be turned.

18 indicates a contact-arm carried by the lower end of the Vshaft la,this` contact-arm playing over four contacts 19, connected with themagnet, anda pair of contacts 20. The contacts 19 are in connection withthe various electromagnetic hrake-shoes,so that by th rowing the arm 1Sfrom one contact to the other one ory more or all of these shoes may bebrought into action. Thus by throwing the contact-arm 18 into theposition shown in Fig. 6 only one brake-shoe will be active, and

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by throwing the contact-arm entirely over into engagement with thele'ftwardmost contact 19 all of the magnetic shoes Will be in action.

After the magnets are denergized and the car is again started itisadvisable to remove from the wheel such residual 'magnetism as may bepresent therein. This is effected by means of a shell 21, which is heldstationary on the truck of the car, closely against the periphery ofeach Wheel, as shown in Fig. 1. These shells are covered with wires, asindicated at 22, and these Wires are part of a circuit including thecontacts 20 of the controller and any source of an alternatingcurrentfor example, a small alternator on the car. When the brakes areto be released and the car started, the contact -arm 18 should be movedinto engagement With the contacts 20, thus bridging these contacts andenergizing the Wires22, and then the residual magnet` ism is removed bythe action of the alternating current passed through the Wires 22 of theshell 21, causing the magnetic poles of the wheel to be rapidly changed.

When the brakes are to be released, the contact-arm 18 should be thrownfully over to the right, causing the contacts 2O to be bridged, thus notonly cutting out the magnets of the shoes, but closing the circuit ofthe Wires 22 and removing the residual magnetism from the Wheel.

Various changes in the form and details of out departing from the spiritof our invenof a means for reducing the residual magnetism in the Wheelafter the release of the brakes, said means comprisinga shell lyingadjacent to the periphery of the Wheel, Wires carried thereon, and meansfor connecting said Wires With a source of an alternating current.

3. A shoe for electric vehicle-brakes, comprising a metallic casing, andmagnets located Within the casing and having cores projected throughorices in the inner or Working face thereof.

In testimony whereof We have signed our names to this specification inthe presence of two subscribing Witnesses.

CHARLES J. SPECHT. CHARLES R. KRUEGER.

Witnesses:

MORRIS HILLQUIT, FRANK M. HILL.

